Pile raising and lowering mechanism



J. SINKOVITZ.

PILE RAISING AND LOWERING MECHANISM Filed May 25, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

MN @N Joseph Sinkovitz MXM ATTORNEYS Dec. 27, 1938.

J. SINKOVITZ PILE RAISING AND LOWERING MECHANISM F iled May 25, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Joseph Sinkovii'z W M 1PM ATTORNEY 5 Patented Dec. 27, 1938 STTS 2,141,418 7 PILE RAISING AND LOWERING MECHANISM Joseph Sinkovitz, Pittsburgh,

Miller Printing Machinery 00.,

Pa... assignor to Pittsburgh, Pa.,

a corporation of Pennsylvania I Application May 25, 1937, Serial No. 144,607

5 Claims.

This invention relates generally to a printing press and particularly to mechanism for actuating the means usually provide-d to receive and support a pile of sheets delivered from the press after they have been printed therein.

It is an object of my invention to provide a drive for pile-supporting means which is adapted to operate the latter under the various conditions of service usually encountered, i. e., by a rapid movement when unloading and resetting the pile-supporting means, and by a slow movement to accommodate the position of the pile support to the height of the pile as the sheets are delivered to the top thereof. In accordance with the invention, I also provide means for operating the pile support at an intermediate speed. This means cooperates with the drive last men'- tioned, viz., that which lowers the support gradually as the pile builds up. I also provide common means whereby the several drives may be actuated manually as desired.

A complete understanding of the invention may be gained from the following detailed description which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating a present preferred embodiment. In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, largely diagrammatic, showing the delivery end of a press having the invention incorporated therein;

Fig. 2 is a plan view; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view along the line III- 111 of Fig. 1 showing parts in elevation.

The usual side frames of a printing press are indicated at Ill and H. A pile support [2 is disposed adjacent the delivery end of the press between frames it and H. The support !2 is suspended on cables l3 traversing sheaves l5, the ends of the cables being secured to winding drums H5. The drums I6 are carried on a shaft lljournaled in the side'frames Ill and H. The sheaves 15 are journaled on shafts l8 carried on the side frames.

The end of the shaft I! which extends through the side frame It traverses a sleeve 19 rotatably disposed in the frame. A ratchet wheel 20 is keyed to the sleeve. A pawl 2i mounted on the side frame cooperates with the ratchet wheel 20 to prevent counterclockwise rotation thereof.

A housing 22 is rotatable on the sleeve l9 and is disposed coaxially with the shaft ll. The housing 22 isprovided with a cover 23 secured theretoby screws 24. The periphery of the cover 23 is provided with ratchet teeth 25 for a purpose which will appear shortly.

A gear 26 is disposed within the housing 22' and is keyed to the sleeve I9. A gear 21 is disposed beside the gear 26 but is keyed to the shaft H. A pinion 28 is journaled on a shaft 29 carried in the housing 22 and its cover. The 'pinion 28 meshes with the gears 26 and 21. The latter have the same diameter, but the number of the teeth on'one gear differs slightly from that on the other. Gear 26, for example, may have forty-nine teeth and the gear 21 forty-eight teeth. The teeth on one gear are slightly deformed to permit a number of teeth to be formed thereon different from the number of teeth on the other. The purpose of this arrangement will be explained presently.

A mask plate 30 overlies the ratchet teeth 25 on the cover 23, except at a portion of its periphery; for a purpose to be explained later. The' plate 30 is adjustable on the cover but is nor-' mally held in fixed position by a pawl 300. carried on a bracket extending out from the frame ll. This pawl co-operates with slots 3% formed in the periphery of the plate 30 at the lower portion thereof. 7

A pawl disc 3| is oscillatable on the cover 23 and is secured thereon together with the mask plate 30 by a collar 32 and a--holding ring 33 which may be pinned or otherwise secured to the shaft IT. The pawl disc carries a pawl 23a wide enough to overlie the mask plate and the edge of the cover 23' on which'the ratchet teeth are formed. As long as the pawl rests on the mask plate, however, it is held out of engagement with the ratchet teeth. The pawl disc is oscillated by a link 23b operated by any suitable means in synchronism with the operation of the press.

The end of the shaft I! protrudes beyond the collar 32 and ring 33, and is provided with a through-pin 34; A crank 35 has a socket with a transverse slot therein adapted to receive the pin 34, as shown in Fig. 3. A stub shaft 36 is set into the cover 23, the collar 32 being bored to receive it. The shaft 36 has its end shaped similar to that of shaft l1 so as to accommodate the crank 35 in the same manner.

A spindle 31 is journaled inthe side frame ll and a gear case 38 carried thereby. The end of the spindle 31 is so shaped as to be engageable by the crank 35 in the samemanner as the shafts ll and 36. A gear 39 keyed to the shaft 31 meshes with a pinion 40 journaled on a stub shaft 4| carried in the frame 1!. Avgear 42 is connected to the pinion 40 by a sleeve 43 surrounding the shaft 4|. The gear 42 meshes with gear teeth 44 formed on a reduced portion of the housing 22.

The operation of the pile support by the various drives above described will now be explained.

If it is desired to raise the support l2 rapidly as, for example, after removal of a pile of sheets therefrom, the crank 35 is placed on the end of the shaft l1 and turned in a clockwise direction. Such rotation of the shaft I1 is permitted by the pawl 2| and obviously is effective to wind up the cables and raise the support. As the shaft E7 is turned, the gear 21 turns with it. This imparts similar rotation to the gear 26 through the pinion 28. The housing 22 may rotate so that the pinion. 28 moves as a planet about the gears 26 and 21. On the other hand, the friction in the gears 39, 4B, 42 and 44 may be such that the housing 22 remains stationary. 'Ineither event, the gear 26 is driven in the same direction as the gear 21. I

When the support has been raised to the proper position, the pawl 2| is effective to hold it against lowering as aresult of its own weight and that of the pile thereon. The latter tends to turn the drums lfi'and shaft I! in the counterclockwise position. Any such rotation of the shaft H, of course, would turn the gear 2'! with it and the gear 26 likewise, as previously explained. The gear 26, however, is keyed to the sleeve l9 to which the ratchet wheel 20 is keyed. The pawl 2i prevents counterclockwise rotation of the latter, so that the support is held in raised position against the weight of the pile. This means that the shaft I! cannot be turned counterclockwise to lower the support by applying the crank 35 directly to the shaft.

The support is lowered automatically when the press is operating by the link 23?). Reciprocation of the link 23b and oscillation of the disc 3! will cause the housing 22 to be turned clockwise intermittently. The amount of angular rotation imparted by the pawl 23a to the housing 22 is determined by the setting of the mask plate 3,0. This may be changed bypushing back the pawl 30a. Thus the support may be automatically lowered at diiferent rates for different thicknesses of stock even though the stroke of the link 23b is constant. As already stated, the gear 26 is held against counterclockwise movement because it is keyedto'the sleeve I9, and the latter is prevented from counterclockwise "rotation by the ratchet wheel 20'also keyed thereto and the pawl 2|. load, however, tends at all times to turnthe gear 26 counterclockwise. Clockwise rotation of the housing 22 thus causes the pinion 28 to move as a planet about the gear 26;. The gear 21 is driven in a counterclockwise direction by the rotation of the pinion'28 about its own' axis. The gear 27, however, is also affected by'the planetary movement of the pinion 28. The net result, because of the differential between the number of teeth on gears 26 and 21, is that for each orbital passage of thepinion 28' about the gear 26, the gear 21 is turned one-tooth pitch in the counterclockwise direction. By this means, the support I2 is lowered slowly as sheets are delivered to the pile thereon.

The stub shaft 36 permits the housing 22 to be turned manually by placing the'crank 35 thereon. The housing 22 may thus be turned to raise tor lower the support very slowly. If the support is to be raised, the pawl 23a. must be thrown p- If it is desired to operate the support either up or down at aspeed greater than thatpermitted by manual operation of the housing 22 The weight of the support l2 and its through the stub shaft 36, the crank 35 may be disposed on the spindle 37. Manual rotation of the latter, through the multiplying gearing 39, 40, 42 and 44, drives the housing 22 at a speed several times that which is convenient by directly driving the latter through the stub shaft 36. By this means, the support may be lowered or raised at an intermediate speed less than that at which the support may be raised by applying the crank directly to the shaft I1, but con- V siderably greater than the speeds attainable with the crank applied to the shaft 35. The pawl 2| holds the support and its load against lowering at all times, except in response to positive actuation of the housing 22 either automatically or manually. V a

' It will be apparent that the invention provides a highly flexible means for actuating the pile support at the desired speed under almost any conditions met with in normal operations. The construction is relatively simple and very rugged, so that maintenance problems are reduced to a minimum.

Although I have illustrated and described herein but one preferred form of the invention,'

changesin the construction disclosed may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim;

1. A drive for a pile support including a shaft, means for driving said shaft directly at relatively high speed, a low-speed drive for said shaft including a sun gear thereon and a planetary pinion meshing therewith, means for imparting relatively low-speed planetary motion to said pinion directly, andseparate means for causing such planetary motion at increased speed.

2. A' drive for the pile support of a printing press-comprising a shaft journalled in the side frames of the press, a sleeve on said shaft rotatable relative thereto, a housingcoaxial with said sleeve and shaft and rotatable relative thereto, a pair of gears insaid housing, one secured to the sleeve andthe other to the shaft, a pinion journaled in the housing and meshing with both said gears, and a multiplying gear drive for said housing, said shaft, said housing and said drive each having means whereby manual operation thereof can be effected.

3. A drive for the pile support of .a printing press comprising a shaft journaled' in the side frames of the press, a sleeve on said shaft rotatable relative thereto, a housing coaxial with said sleeve and shaft and rotatable relative thereto, a pair of gears in said housing, onev securedto the sleeve and the other to the shaft, a pinion journaled in the housing and'meshing with both said gears, and a multiplying gear drive for said housing, said shaft, said housing and said drive each having means engageable by a ing said housing to effect a traverse of said support at intermediate speed.

5. A drive for a pile support comprising a shaft, means whereby said shaft may be rotated manually to effect a rapid traverse of the support, a differential, planetary reduction gearing on said shaft including a housing rotatable thereon, said gearing being effective on rotation of said housing to drive said shaft at slow speed, and a manually operable speed-increasing gearing for driving said housing to efiect a traverse of said support at intermediate speed.

JOSEPH SINKOVITZ. 

